Bag-closure



P. LAUX.

BAG CLOSURE.

APPLICATKON FILED MAY 19, 1920.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

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stares PETER LA UX, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BAG-CLOSURE.

Specification of Eetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

Application filed May 155, 1920. Serial No. 382,533.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PETER LAUK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State o1 Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in BagClosures, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for bags or pouches applicable to the mouths thereof for enabling the same to be readily spread and opened, and thus facilitate the discharge of the contents. The device is intended more particularly for tobacco bags or pouches to enable the tobacco to be easily dispensed for making cigarettes, and the invention has for its object to provide a de vice which is very simple in construction and readily applied to any ordinary tobacco bag or pouch, and which also serves to normally hold the mouth of the bag or pouch tightly closed.

The object stated is attained by the novel and improved construction to be hereinafter described in detail and claimed, and in order that the same may be better understood, ret erence is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the device showing its application;

Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. l is a side elevation showing a modi iication, and

Fig. 5 is a cross section thereof.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 5 denotes an ordinary tobacco bag or pouch constructed of (loth or other suitable fleXi-' his material.- The device which is applied to the mouth of the bag consists of a spring metal strip 6 having lateral bends 7 at its ends for a purpose to be presently described. Adjacent to its ends, one of the longitudinal edges of the strip 6 has notches 8 extending obliquely with respect to the strip as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the incline off the notches being toward the medial portion of the strip, or inwardly.

In applying the strip 6 to the bag 5, it is flexed slightly and positioned so that the notches 8 are at the bottom, and that portion of the strip lying between the notches 8 is inserted into the mouth of thebag as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The inward incline of the notches 8 prevents the strip from be ing pulled upwardly out of the bag mouth. The distance between the notches 8 is such that when the strip is allowed to straighten out, the fabric is held tightly stretched in the direction of the length of the bag mouth, with the result that the two sides of the latter are held parallel and lying closely together to effect a tight closure. The bends 7 are adjacent to the opposite ends of the bag mouth.

To open the bag mouth, the strip 6 is flexed or bowed as shown dotted in Fig. 3. To accomplish this, it is necessary only to press the bends 7 toward each other, this action resulting in the strip being bowed outwardly as it is resilient, the movement being in a direction to open the bag mouth so that the contents of the bag may now be readily discharged. The operation is eliiected with one hand, leaving the other hand tree to hold the cigarette paper. Upon releasing the pressure on the bends 7, the strip 6 automatically straightens out, and again closes the bag mouth.

The device is very simple, and hence it can be cheaply produced, and it can also be easily applied to the bag or pouch, and by its use draw strings and other devices ordinarily used for closing bags may be dispensed with.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a slightly modified form of the device designed more particularly for application to a bag 9 having a relatively narrow mouth 10; The device consists of a resilient strip 11 having its lower half reduced in length to form end recesses 12 corresponding to the notches 8 in the first described device and having the same function. The device is applied to the bag by inserting the reduced lower portion into the mouth thereof, leaving the upper portion outside the mouth, and as this portion is longer than the inserted portion, the ends 13 of the former may be used in the same manner as the parts 7 in the first-described structure, said ends being bent laterally as before to facilitate the operation. Inasmuch as the width of the mouth of the bag is less than that of the bag, it will be seen that the ends 13 do not project beyond the plane of the corresponding walls of the bag, which makes it easier to remove the bag from a narrow or deep pocket as there are no projecting parts to catch on the pocket lining and impede the removal of the ba 1 claim:

1. A bag closure comprising a resilient strip having recesses in one of its longitudinal edges at the ends thereof, and adapted to be applied to a bag mouth to locate lengthwise inside the latter that portion of the strip lying between the recesses, and said strip being flexible in a direction transverse of: the bag mouth.

2. A bag closure comprising a resilient strip having recesses in one of its longitudinal edges at the ends thereof, and adapted to be applied to a bag mouth to locate the strip lengthwise inside the latter that portion of the strip lying between the recesses, said recesses having an inward incline, and said strip being flexible in a direction transverse of the bag mouth.

3. A bag closure comprising a resilient strip having recesses in one of its longitudinal edges at the ends thereof, and adapted to be applied to a bag mouth to locate lengthwise inside the latter that portion of the strip lying between the recesses and the ends of the strip on the outside of the bag having lateral bends for bowing the strip laterally of the bag mouth when said bends are pressed together.

In testimony whereof I aztfix my signature PETER LAUX. 

